Politics

France detains 1,220 after anti-govt protests

Demonstrators gather around a burning barricade during clashes with riots police, in Paris, France, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. Crowds of protesters angry at President Emmanuel Macron and France's high taxes tried to converge on the presidential palace Saturday, some scuffling with police firing tear gas, amid exceptional security measures aimed at preventing a repeat of last week's rioting. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

France’s Interior Ministry says 1,220 people were taken into custody around France during the latest yellow vest protests — a roundup the scale of which the country hasn’t seen in years.

Police frisked protesters Saturday at train stations around the country, confiscating everything from heavy metal petanque balls to tennis rackets — anything that could remotely be used as a weapon.

The Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum reopened Sunday after closing amid Saturday’s rioting. Shops assessed looting damage Sunday and cleared out broken glass, after shutting down on Saturday at the height of the holiday shopping season.

Fierce winds and rain pummeled Paris overnight, complicating the effort to clean up Sunday. Used tear gas canister lids lay scattered on the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees.

In the melee Saturday, protesters had ripped off the plywood protecting Parisian store windows and threw flares and other projectiles. French riot police repeatedly repelled them with tear gas and water cannon.